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Network installation guide.

Version 3 – 27th September 2016

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Installing Claro software on a network Customers owning a site licence or multi-user licence version of a Claro product are able to distribute that product

over more than one computer. This could be done by visiting each computer with the installation software (e.g. on a

USB memory stick) and manually installing the products, but this is time-consuming. If the computers are connected

on a network, it is instead possible to use standard Microsoft network operations to install the software from a

central location.

All Claro products use Microsoft Windows Installer (MSI) files for installation. This means that standard Microsoft

installation techniques can be used. These are described in the following sections.

Each MSI file comes with a CAB file, which contains the actual files for the program. You must keep the CAB and MSI

files together, or installation will fail.

You will probably have downloaded the Claro MSI and CAB files in a large Zip file. This contains multiple programs

(ClaroRead, ScreenRuler, AudioNote, ClaroCapture, Save to Video), each as an MSI file and a CAB file. They can all be

installed using the same techniques as ClaroRead.

You will also have some voice MSI files you can download, and install in the same way. These are our high-quality

synthesized speech voices: these sound great, but can eat up more disk space than you want. See the Voices section

below.

For any help, contact support@clarosoftware.com.

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Contents Distributing ClaroRead over a network in Windows Server 2003 .................................................................................. 4

Distributing ClaroRead over a network in Windows Server 2008 .................................................................................. 9

Distributing ClaroRead over a network in Windows Server 2012 ................................................................................ 15

Installing for RemoteApp .............................................................................................................................................. 23

Installing ClaroRead using a batch script ...................................................................................................................... 24

Prerequisites ................................................................................................................................................................. 27

Voices ........................................................................................................................................................................... 27

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Distributing ClaroRead over a network in

Windows Server 2003 This guide will show you how to deploy ClaroRead using Windows Server 2003 and Group Policy. This guide assumes

you are familiar with how to operate your Windows network, that you have already setup Windows Server 2003 and

have configured your users and groups in Active Directory.

We use Microsoft Windows Installer MSI files for all our installers so they work well with Windows networks and

they all install in a similar way. You can use this guide for ClaroIdeas, ScreenRuler and so on.

Creating a Distribution Point The first step is to create a new folder and setup a network share for it. This is called a Distribution Point and will

house the installation files and MSI package from which the software will be distributed. When creating this share

please bear in mind that if it is deleted any attempted installations thereafter may fail – so put it somewhere safe!

Every machine that will be installing the software must be able to get to the folder on the network, or it will not

work.

Copy the ClaroRead network edition files into the shared folder. You will need the MSI file (the main installer) but

also any folders and files with the MSI. These contain the actual program files.

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Creating a Group Policy Object

Go to Start > Administrative Tools > Active Directory Users and Computers

If you want to distribute the software to every user on your network right click your domain and click Properties. If

you want to distribute the software only to member of a specific group right click the group node and click

Properties.

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Click New then type a meaningful name for your Group Policy Object (GPO). Press enter, select the new GPO and

then click the Edit button. The Group Policy Object Editor will appear.

In the Group Policy Object Editor there is an entry called Software Installation under Computer Configuration >

Software Settings. Right click it, click New, and then click Package...

A file browser will appear. Type into it the UNC address of the ClaroRead MSI from the Distribution Point we created

earlier. It is very important that you do not use the file browser to locate the file as Windows will try and use the

local address to distribute the package instead of its proper network location.

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To find the UNC address you can navigate to the Distribution Point using My Network Places then copy the address

beginning with \\ from the address bar.

Click the OK button. You will then be asked to select if you want to Assign or Publish the package. Assigning the

software will cause it to install automatically when the user signs in whereas publishing the software will allow the

user to manually install the software via Add and Remove Programs.

Your package is now deployed. When a user logs in (or chooses to install if Published) then the software will be

installed on their machine.

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In some circumstances you may find that the package is not installed at user login. To fix this open the Group Policy

Object Editor and navigate to the ClaroRead Software Installation entry. Right click it then click Properties, go to

the Deployment tab then make sure Install this application at logon is checked and click OK.

Further Reading For more information on distributing software using Group Policy please see Microsoft Knowledgebase article 816102

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Distributing ClaroRead over a network in

Windows Server 2008 This guide will show you how to deploy ClaroRead using Windows Server 2008 and Group Policy. This guide assumes

you are familiar with how to operate your Windows network, that you have already setup Windows Server 2008 and

have configured your users and groups in Active Directory.

We use Microsoft Windows Installer MSI files for all our installers so they work well with Windows networks and

they all install in a similar way. You can use this guide for ClaroIdeas, ScreenRuler and so on.

Setting up a share The first step to distributing ClaroRead across a network is to provide a shared location from which clients can access

the ClaroRead setup files. If there is not already a shared folder set up for this purpose, then one can be created in

the following manner:

1. Create a folder in a suitable location with a suitable name

2. Right-click on the new folder and select Properties

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3. In the properties dialog select the 'Sharing' tab and then click on 'Advanced Sharing…'

4. Tick 'Share this folder' and then click on the 'Permissions' button

5. Add the 'Read' permission to users or groups that should be able to install ClaroRead

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6. 'OK' all of the dialogs and open the new folder in Windows Explorer

7. Create any further folders desired to make it easier to manage the file system

8. Copy all files from your installation zip to the new shared folder

Setting up the distribution script Once the files are in a suitable shared location use the following steps to distribute them across the network:

1. Open up the 'Group Policy Management' window by going to 'Start Menu > Administrative Tools > Group Policy

Management'

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2. Expand 'Forest: [The Forest] > Domains > [The Domain]'. Right-click on 'Group Policy Objects' and select 'New'

3. Enter a suitable name for the new policy (e.g. ClaroRead Install Policy) and leave 'Source Starter GPO' as

'(none)'

4. Click on the new policy and then select the 'Settings' tab from the right-hand pane. In this tab are 2 configuration

headings: 'Computer Configuration' and 'User Configuration'. Right-click anywhere in the panel and select 'Edit…'

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5. Expand 'User Configuration > Policies > Software Settings', right-click on 'Software installation' and select 'New >

Package…'

6. Select the network location of the ClaroRead installation files

7. In the dialog that appears select 'Assigned' and click 'OK'

8. The selected installer will appear in the 'Software installation' panel. (This might take a couple of minutes to

happen)

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9. When the package does appear, double-click on it to open properties and then select the 'Deployment' tab.

10. Tick 'Install this application at logon' and select 'Basic' for the user interface. Click 'OK'

11. Close the 'Group Policy Management Editor' window and return to the 'Group Policy Management' window.

Right click on the domain name in the tree and select 'Link an Existing GPO…' from the drop-down.

12. Select the new policy from the list and click 'OK'

ClaroRead should now install on users' computers when they log in.

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Distributing ClaroRead over a network in

Windows Server 2012 This guide will show you how to deploy ClaroRead using Windows Server 2012. This guide assumes you are familiar

with how to operate your Windows network, that you have already setup Windows Server 2012 and have

configured your users and groups in Active Directory.

We use Microsoft Windows Installer MSI files for all our installers so they work well with Windows networks and

they all install in a similar way. You can use this guide for ClaroIdeas, ScreenRuler and so on.

Setting up a share The first step to distributing ClaroRead across a network is to provide a shared location from which clients can access

the ClaroRead setup files. If there is not already a shared folder set up for this purpose, then one can be created in

the following manner:

1. Create a folder in a suitable location with a suitable name

2. Right-click on the new folder and select Properties

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3. In the properties dialog select the 'Sharing' tab and then click on 'Advanced Sharing…'

4. Tick 'Share this folder' and then click on the 'Permissions' button

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5. Add the 'Read' permission to users or groups that should be able to install ClaroRead

6. 'OK' all of the dialogs and open the new folder in Windows Explorer

7. Create any further folders desired to make it easier to manage the file system

8. Copy all files from your installation Zip to the new shared folder

Setting up the distribution script Once the files are in a suitable shared location use the following steps to distribute them across the network:

1. Open up the 'Group Policy Management' window by going to 'Start Screen' and locating the Group Policy

Management icon.

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2. Expand 'Forest: [The Forest] > Domains > [The Domain]'. Right-click on 'Group Policy Objects' and select 'New'

3. Enter a suitable name for the new policy (e.g. ClaroRead Install Policy) and leave 'Source Starter GPO' as '(none)'

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4. Click on the new policy and then select the 'Settings' tab from the right-hand pane. In this tab are 2 configuration

headings: 'Computer Configuration' and 'User Configuration'. Right-click anywhere in the panel and select 'Edit…'

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5. Expand 'User Configuration > Policies > Software Settings', right-click on 'Software installation' and select 'New >

Package…'

6. Select the network location of the ClaroRead installation files

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7. In the dialog that appears select 'Assigned' and click 'OK'

8. The selected installer will appear in the 'Software installation' panel. (This might take a couple of minutes to

happen)

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9. When the package does appear, double-click on it to open properties and then select the 'Deployment' tab.

10. Tick 'Install this application at logon' and select 'Basic' for the user interface. Click 'OK'

11. Close the 'Group Policy Management Editor' window and return to the 'Group Policy Management' window.

Right click on the domain name in the tree and select 'Link an Existing GPO…' from the drop-down.

12. Select the new policy from the list and click 'OK'

ClaroRead should now install on users' computers when they log in.

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Installing for RemoteApp RemoteApp is a feature in Windows 2008 which allows users to run an application on a remote server but see it as

though it were running on their own desktop. Claro products are able to work in this manner however some

problems can occur if the software needs to communicate with another piece of software but they aren't running on

the same machine. For instance, if ClaroRead was being run on a server and viewed through RemoteApp but

Microsoft Word was running on the client machine then the highlighting and reading features (as well as others)

would not be available because ClaroRead would not be able to communicate with Microsoft Word. If both pieces of

software were running on the server however then ClaroRead would work normally.

For information on how to install products for use by RemoteApp please see Installing Applications for Windows

Server 2008 Terminal Services and Configuring RemoteApps on Windows Server 2008.

For information on using RemoteApps from Windows XP clients please see Terminal Services RemoteApp (TS

RemoteApp).

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Installing ClaroRead using a batch script You can have ClaroRead install on an end-user machine by using a batch script that runs when the user logs in.

Setting up a share The first step to distributing ClaroRead using a batch script is to provide a shared location from which clients can

access the ClaroRead setup files. If there is not already a shared folder set up for this purpose, then one can be

created in the following manner:

1. Create a folder in a suitable location with a suitable name

2. Right-click on the new folder and select Properties

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3. In the properties dialog select the 'Sharing' tab and then click on 'Advanced Sharing…'

4. Tick 'Share this folder' and then click on the 'Permissions' button

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5. Add the 'Read' permission to users or groups that should be able to install ClaroRead

6. 'OK' all of the dialogs and open the new folder in Windows Explorer

7. Create any further folders desired to make it easier to manage the file system

8. Copy all files from the downloaded zip to the new shared folder

Creating the batch file The next task is to create the batch file to install the software.

Create a new batch(.BAT) file in the shared folder. Into this file enter the required lines to install the software. For

example:

@echo off msiexec /i ClaroReadPlus55enus.msi

/passive msiexec /i msxml.msi /passive

msiexec /i msxml6.msi /passive

Setting the script to run at logon Please see the following two articles for information on setting the script to run at logon:

• Setting up a Logon Script through Active Directory Users and Computers in Windows Server 2008

• Setting up a Logon Script through GPO in Windows Server 2008

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Prerequisites Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10

Claro products are designed for currently-supported Windows releases. Older versions of Windows may not

work properly. You should update to the latest Service Pack for your system.

.NET Framework Our products require the .NET 4 Client Framework, which is available as a system component for Windows 8

and later. Windows 7 and earlier will require installation of the Framework if not already done.

Visual Studio 2005 (VC++ 8.0) and Visual Studio 2010 (VC++ 10.0) Runtimes ClaroRead 7.0 and later does not require any Visual Studio runtimes.

ClaroRead Plus and Pro versions 6.5 and earlier require the Visual Studio 2005 (C++ 8.0) and Visual Studio

2010 (C++ 10.0) runtimes.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/kb/2977003

Voices Many of our products come with synthesized speech voices (e.g. “RealSpeak Daniel” or “Vocalizer Daniel”). These

are usually SAPI5 voices, installed by separate MSI windows installer files. Some voices (Vocalizer, and

ScanSoft/RealSpeak) are also available to other applications on the system, but some (Acapela) are not.

Generally, more voices are better, but because of their high quality some voices can be hundreds of MB in size, so

you may or may not want to install them all.

You should have received instructions on where to get your voice MSIs. If you install your other MSI files over the

network, you can simply install some or all of the voices MSI files in exactly the same way. This lets you choose how

many voices to install and how much space they should take up.